Cinematography:
Jimmy LindseyCast:
Danny Trejo, Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Steven Seagal, Michelle Rodriguez, Jeff Fahey, Cheech Marin, Don Johnson, Shea Whigham, Lindsay Lohan, Daryl Sabara (more)VOD (4)
Plots(1)
He looked like just another day laborer from the streets, and the perfect fall guy for a crooked political assassination. But he turned out to be Machete (Danny Trejo), A legendary ex-federale with a deadly attitude and the skills to match. Left for dead after clashing with notorious Mexican drug kingpin Torrez (Steven Seagal), Machete has escaped to Texas, looking to disappear and forget his tragic past. But what he finds is a web of corruption and deceit that leaves a bullet in Senator McLaughlin (Robert DeNiro) and Machete a wanted man. Machete sets out to clear his name and expose a conspiracy. But standing in his way are Benz (Jeff Fahey) – a ruthless businessman with an endless payroll of killers, Von (Don Johnson) – a twisted border vigilante leading a small army, and Sartana Rivera (Jessica Alba) – a beautiful immigrations officer torn between enforcing the law and doing what is right. Helping Machete even the odds are Luz (Michelle Rodriguez) – a sexy taco-truck lady with a rebellious spirit and revolutionary heart, and Padre (Cheech Marin) – a priest who’s good with blessings, but better with guns. Carving a path of bullets, blood and broken hearts, Machete’s quest ultimately leads him back to Torrez for an epic battle of revenge and redemption. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (12)
Machete is one of those action movies that do not provoke or offend me, but honestly speaking, they don't particularly impress me either. The exaggeration is to blame for the former, which is likable and allows me to forgive the traditional shallowness of the action movie script. As for the latter, it's due to the stereotype, because Rodriguez keeps filming the same thing over and over again, and I admit that he earned most of my sympathy with his amateur debut made for a few hundred dollars. Moreover, casting someone like Danny Trejo in the lead role is more than daring, because he is a strictly typecast actor who can handle small roles, but fails miserably when it comes to delivering something substantial in a big ensemble. The script is traditionally shallow and simply exploits the established action clichés, beautiful girls, cynical killers, and a bulletproof action hero. It has all been done a thousand times before. Overall impression: 50%.
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A great B-movie exactly in the style that resonates with me. It’s action-packed, gritty, blood-soaked, and with an excellent main character. Great scenes that I can still vividly recall in my mind. It's a bit of a shame that Rodriguez doesn’t occasionally dismiss the digital effects and instead opts for the old-school path of practical effects. It would fit quite well with a B-movie, even though it's a modern B-movie. But otherwise, I had a great time with it.
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With similarly tuned retro images, it is difficult to find a reasonable line between piety, parody and seriousness, if I paraphrase the words of one of the protagonists: Machete didn't cross the line, the line crossed Machete. This film is the most entertaining and dullest spectacle I can imagine in the genre. If I’d had it on VHS in the 1980s, I’d undoubtedly have long hair, a black mustache and a sharpened machete. And a girl with one eye. [85%]
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Typical Rodriguez: self-absorbed, wallowing in unnecessary perversions at the expense of a better developed story and the characters themselves, who under his baton are nothing but necessary figures without a sense of humour and exaggeration. And neither Danny Trejo's rugged expression, who is only in the film anyway because of his sharp machetes, nor Robert De Niro's villain, who is at least a pleasant refresher in Rodriguez's absurd world without boundaries, can change things. But it can’t be denied that the film is brutal action entertainment, very funny at times and that Jessica Alba's sexy backside is worth more than a dude hanging by his guts. If it was made by Tarantino, he would certainly have brought the necessary mafia touch to the story and steered it on the right action track, and Machete may have been an unattainable genre gem. As it is, however, it's just a shabbier little brother to Stallone's more stylish and straightforward The Expendables.
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They should have stuck with the fake trailer. It serves up imaginative action and catchphrases in every other scene, but the whole thing is kind of... sterile. And boring at that. Lost among the geysers of stylishness is a plot that needed to draw us in more and give us more insight into the characters. I know, it’s all about a slightly different genre and intelligence rules, but even when you have one of the ugliest people running around between Hollywood and Mexico in the lead role, you expect the fun to be a little more serious, or conversely, a little crazier. Like Planet Terror.
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